Electrically heated fan-radiator apparatus



P 949. s. A. WlTTE ET AL 2,481,963

ELECTRICALLY HEATED FAN-RADIATOR APPARATUS Filed Feb. 27, 1946 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOIZS SAMUEL A.W1TTE WILLIAM W WITI'IE PHILIP WWITTIE NICHOLAS WITT BYM M M ATTORNEYS p 1 1949- s. A. WITTE ET AL r2,481,963,

ELECTRICALLY HEATED FAN-RADIATOR APPARATUS Filed Feb. 27, 1946 1 2Shets-Sheet 2 I I I 1 l I u IIIIIIIII/IIIIfiI/l [1V VENT 0R5 SAMUEL A.WI TTE WILLIAM w: WITTIE PHILIP W. WJTTIE NICHOLAS WITTE BY z 4ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 13, 1949 UNI-.jTE-D PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIQALDXHE ED FAN-RADIATOR AlfIfARA'IfUS Samuel A. Witt'e, 'William W.Wittie,Philip W.

Wittie, and Nicholas Witte, Chicago; Ill.

Application Eebl'juaty'fl, 1946, Serial No. 650,532 10 GlttilnS. (Cl.21939) The present invention relates to heating apparatus andparticularly to portable spaceheat ersadapted for-room heating purposes.

While there have been in the past manypo 'table heating devices, adaptedfor room heating purposes, such prior heaters have been in mostinstances relatively heavy 'or difficult to handle and. transpor an toavoi su m liits. nd, aff rd a heating element that is reauiily portableis, the primary objectof thisinvention. Another and related object oithe present invention is to enable an electrically heated steam heatingap paratus tobe embodied in portable i'orm for use as a room heater. Afurther object is to enable the operating elements of such a heatingapparatus to be'readily assembled as a unit so that such unit may bethen incorporated within a casing which encloses the unit and cooperatesw t e a in el m etsw Prq fde the des d ircu f h a e a r- Mo s e imen isan object of the present inventidntoenable the heating action of such anelectrically heated t m heating a aratus o e ffecti ly co trolled so asto obtain high operating e fliciency, andanother and related. object isto so construct and relate the elements qt such, anapparatus that these,elements may be. readily manufactured, as well as repaired.

Other and further objects of the present me vention will be apparentfrom the follow g d scription and claims and are, illustratedaccompanying which, by way of illustra tion shows a preferredembodiment, and the prin: ciple thereof and what we now cons der to bethe best mode in which we have con emulated applying th t principleQther elmb d m ee'q the nv o embod me o equ valent pringples y e sed a ds r ural h n e may be made as es r y h e s lle he art Without departingfrom the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of a heating device embodying thefeatures of the invention,

the view being taken substantially along the line I-TJ ofFig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along the line2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken.

substantially along the line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmental vertical sectional view taken substantially alongthe line 4-.-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a iragmental rear elevational view;Fig. 6 is a schematic wiring diagram;

2 Fig. '7 is a side'elevationalview of the heating and air circulatingunit of the'pr'esent device; t Fig. 8 is an end elevational view" oftheheat ing and air circulating unit; 7 I Fig. 9 is a fragin'e'ntalsectional viewsho the mann r in which the heating element iscon's'truct'ed and mounted;

Fig. 10 is a fragme'ntal sectional view showing the manner in which theswitches'aremounted and controlled; Fig. 11 a fragmental sectionalviewof the handle construction; and f Fig. 12 is a sectional view-of thehandle taken along the line l2-'l2 of 11.

In the form chosen for disclosure herein, the invention is embodied inaportable'sp'ace heater it that has the operative heatihgand air circalating elements included within a casing that is formedfrornsheetirietal to afford a top wall i2,a bottom wallil i a "aunt wall14," afreai' wan iii and detachably associated end walls It and IT. Thearrangement of 'the'walls of the c'as'ihg l l is such that thiscasingtakes the gene'ral'ioi 'in of a travelling bag or suitcase, and ahandle is mounted on the upper wall l 2'of the casing in a manner thatwill be'deScribed-in greater d'e' tail hereinafter. The lower "or bottomwall (3 of the*cas-ing has feet 2| mounted thereon sov that the casingH, will be supported. somewhat above the floor level.

The heating and air circulating elements of the space heater of thepresent invention areall included within the chamber afforded by theset" eral walls of the casing II, and in forming the casing H, thevarious elements "of the casing are constructed and related so as notonly to facilitate manufacturing-and assembly of the" casing itself butalso to-iacilitate the 'fnounting of the heating'and'air circulatingelements within the casing. Thus in the production ofthe casing ll;the'top and bottom walls I2 and I3 and the front and back walls I'dandl5 are formed from a single sheet of metal that is bent to affordrounded cornersas at 23, Fig. 2, and the endsof the sheet are preferablyjoined-togethef as by welding. The sheet metal that is thus utilized informing the main section'o'f the easing is so formed as to afford aninlet opening 25 and an outlet opening 26; and'inth'e present instanceboth the inlet opening and the outlet opening are afforded primarily inthe "forward wall E3 of the'casi ng. 'It' will be observedfhow ever,tl'iat the lowerencl' oi the inlet pefimgzs is extended downwardly as at25A, Figl 2,'about the rounded lowercorners'o'f this 'sctiori' ofth'ecasing, and the outlet opening 26 is extended upwardly as at 26Athroughout substantially the entire extent of the rounded upper cornerthat connects the forward wall l3 of the upper wall 12. Preferably theinlet and outlet openings and 26 are formed as louvers which have vanesor slats 25B and 263 that are formed by plOC-f esses of stamping fromthe metal of the sheet from which this unit of the casing is made.

The end edges or marginal portions of the center or main section of thecasing are offset inwardly as at 28, Figs. 1 and 3, so as to facilitateassociation of the end walls l6 and I! therewith, these end walls l6 andI! being formed or drawn so as to have rounded corners and edges thatafford attachment flanges 29 that embrace the offset portions 28, aswill be evident in Figs. 1 and 3, and means are extended through theflange portions 29 of the end walls and into the offset portions 28 Soas to secure the end walls 16 and ll in place. In the present instancesuch securing means are afforded by a plurality of self-tapping screws30.

Since the present space heating device is intended to be carried fromplace to place by the handle 20, and since it is desirable that thishandle be relatively cool, the handle 29 is associated with the upperwall l2 of the casing in such a manner as to minimize transfer of heatfrom the casing to the handle 20. In the present instance this isaccomplished in the manner illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12 of thedrawings where it will be evident that the handle 26 is made from sheetmetal so as to afford coaxial extending ends 32 that are extendedloosely into pockets 33 afforded by sheet metal bracket members 64 thatare secured as by spot welding to the upper surface of the top wall l2.Because of the loose connection that is thus afforded, the transfer ofthe heat to the casing from the handle 25 is minimized and a rather coolhandle for carrying the unit is thereby assured.

The heating and air circulating means of the space heater of the presentinvention are constructed as a unit, as shown in Figs. '7 and 8 of thedrawings, so that this unit may be completely assembled and then may beinserted readily and easily into its operative position into the casingl I, such operative position being shown in Figs. 1 to 4 of thedrawings. In enabling this to be accomplished, the end wall I l isremoved from the casing so as to leave this end of the casing open, andthe heating and air circulating unit 35 is inserted endwise intoposition within the casing and is secured in position as willhereinafter be described, after which the end wall I! is put intoposition on the casing.

The unit 35 comprises a steam boiler 36 having an electrical heatingunit 31 associated therewith so thatsteam may be created in the boiler36 and will be transmitted to a heat exchange element 38 that is mountedin association with the boiler, and an air circulating fan 39 driven byan electric motor 40, is also associated with the unit so as tocirculate air past the heat exchange element 38. The boiler 36 iscylindrical in form, and has end caps 4i and 42 permanently associatedwith opposite ends thereof, and this boiler is of such a character thatit may be formed from ordinary commercial pipe. The end caps 4| and 42are preferably associated with the cylindrical element of the boiler byprocesses of welding; and a fillin pipe 43 closed by a plug 44 is alsoassociated with the cylindrical portion of the boiler 36, the fillingpipe 43 being formed by a conventiona1 elbow disposed in the presentinstance so as to have the plugged end extended in an upward direction.The boiler 36 has a pair of legs 41 and 48 secured thereto as by weldingso as to thereby extend such legs downwardly from the boiler 36, andthese legs have feet 41A and 48A formed thereon so that these feet areadapted to rest upon the bottom wall l3 of the casing.

The heat exchange element 38 is in the present instance afforded by aplurality of long narrow tubes 50 extended through a plurality of spacedtransverse fins 5| and connected at their opposite ends to headers 52and 53. The header 52 is connected to the boiler 36 by a pipe 54 that isdisposed adjacent to the end cap 4|, and a support 55 is extendedupwardly from the boiler 36 adjacent to the end cap 42 so as to bedisposed beneath the heat exchange element in a supporting relation. Inthe present instance the support 55 has a foot extended horizontally atthe upper end thereof so that the lower edges of certain of the fins 5|rest on such foot, and these parts are secured together as by solderingat 56. The relationship between the pipe 54 and the support 55 is suchthat when the feet 41a and 48a are disposed on a horizontal surface, thetubes 50 of the heat exchange element will slope toward the header 52,thereby to return condensate to the boiler, but it will be understoodthat under some instances a return line from the header to the boilermight be provided in accordance with well known practice. The header 53has a vent valve 58 of a conventional type associated therewith, thisvent valve being of the type which closes when steam is present in theheader 53.

The mounting of the electrical heater 3'! in the boiler is accomplishedunder the present invention in such a manner that this heater may bereadily removed for inspection or replacement. In accomplishing thisresult, a nipple 6-3 is connected to the end cap 42 as by threading thesame through the end cap as shown in Fig. 9 of the drawing and the jointbetween these two elements is preferably sealed as by welding at 6|.Thus an opening into the boiler 36 is afforded and the electricalheating element is provided by a water proof heating element of knownconstruction as indicated at 62, this element constituting a water proofsheath 63 and an insulated heating wire 34 extended therethrough. Theheating element 63 is bent into an elongated U-shaped form and the endsare extended through the end wall 65 of a conventional pipe cap 66.Exteriorly of the walls 65 the sheath 63 is sealed as by welding at 61,and terminals 68 are provided in an exposed relation for connection ofthe lower leads to opposite ends of the heating element. The heatingelement is inserted endwise through the nipple and into the boiler 36,and the pipe cap 66 is threaded onto the nipple 66 so as to thereby sealthe boiler 36 with the heating element in position within the boiler.

Under the present invention, provision is made for forced circulation ofair through the casing of the space heater so that this air is drawninto the casing through the inlet 25 and is forced up-- wardly throughthe heat exchange unit 38 and then out through the outlet 26 of thecasing. In providing for such forced circulation of the air, the fan 39is mounted on the support 48 of the unit 35. Thus as will be evident inFigs. '7 and 8, a plate 10 is secured to one of the legs by means of abracket H so as to extend in a horizontal direction toward the rear wallof the casing, as shown in Fig. 2, and connecting screws 12 are exemestehde'd eownwaraty through: mounting top'enings affordedin the' fie'ldla'r'ninations of the motor 40 and into the pleite 'm. I his positionsthe fan 1.39 so as to blow air upwardly past what may be termed the'r'ear faceef the "boiler 36. In the -present ins'tance, however, thisupwardly moving ai'r is' nlaintai-ned oiit efpontactwiith the boiler 36end isdire'ted towar'd thedowe'r 'surfa'ce of the hea't-xchanee uiiit'3S. hisis accnniplished by avenue-te mite plate 'l a'i that isflispos'ed between thetem" supports 4 a'ndflB in :spaced relaticn t'othe ljoiler 36; The -sid'e edge portions f the -13 file plate-areweldedd's :at 16 te -the Iegs t'l and ,'-="and the plate Y has aforivanl edge :1 SF that is, in the finished device,disposed%c1osely:adijacetit to the for-ward wall M above 'the inletweenie-g as will be evident in Fi'g.!2"of the *ere m The other or rearedge 15R of "the bfaille 1 plate 15 {is disposed adjacent to the upperedge 'the boiler -iiiif'asshown in Figsp'l andii, fairfd thearrangementis 'such' that wh'e nithe unit 3 5 i's imposition inthecasing,-the-baflle plate 15 *Will atan 'poin'ts be spaced substantiallyfrom'ithe rear all [5 of the "casing 'so as to thereby afor'd'eJsubstarltial air passage in an upwar'dlydirectionabove the' fanUnder some circumstances it 'rhay be desirable to assure that most'dfthe air thu-s clre'ula'ted bythe fan 39 Will pass thfliugh thefl'ieat exchange unit 33, and for this s} curedalong the' sideiof theheat exchange unit. These ba ffle plates T9 antl dil 'are in the form ofangle plates, one arm of which extendsupw'ardl'y"s0as tdbe disposedagainst the adjacent end are secured in place bybolts iilextendedthrou'gh the heat ekichange unit between finsil. In someinstances, the members 19 'a'ifd 8.0 may be relatively narrow s'o as tothereby act merelyiiasposihoningmeans forengagement with-the walls '14and t5 sc -as to thereby prevent'tipping of the unit within th'e easing.In other instances a bra'cket '82 maybe fixed as by welding to thefeov'df tne sup ort 55, and mayfbe extendedto the rearwall i ('5 of thecasing; t'o' whlch it may be fi'xedas by means oe a bolt'o'r screw. rneneenng-andair culating unit as aIso ineludes control means 5 that I arer esponsive to boiler 'ddnditions for controlling the=""op'eration ofhas apair'of acjustahie control plungersel and 92 mounted thereon, andthese "control pungers are aligned respectively with the operating"pmrrgers or a'pairof inicro=switches 93'a'n'd 94 tlrat'arealso niountedon the bracket 88. The jstv'ltch -3--is"'arra ngedto control theoperation of the fan and or "the normeu open type as own in "EigN-G so-as "tube closed "when "the "fp lingerfthereofis engaged and operated bythe egjdjustable plunger m. "The switch l is a "normally cl'osd type asshown in Figfi fi -ari'd this his pos'itioxr as b'y welding at' 81; E On:1

"39 is :supp'liedzby a co'nven'tional :cord 95, one" wire es of whichhas branch zleads ="98 and- 91 extended respectivelyzto' one terminallof thetheaterwelement 31%andt0 one iterminallof the item motor-40. The

other terminal of the ifan' motor '40 is connected "by a wire:9-9 toeonecontact-of the switch-9:3,while wire I02 connects the wire I01toonecoritacttcif the switch 94, and the other contact 'ofithe switchWhen theunit eli has thus been assembled, it is moved endwise to thecasing l and the feet fi a and. 58a aresecured t'o the lo'ottorn wall f3.o'f thecasing byrneans-suches self -tappingscrews i115 and 166. Inthecours'e'of such movement or the'unit 35 into "the-casing 'I I, theelectric cord is move'd into-aslot108, Figs. 3 and 5, that is iormed inthe adjacen-t end of the rear wall I 5 of the casing. Thecord 5 may,ifdesired,

"be protected by aresilient grommet l eewhich is 'of' coursedisposedupon the cord 95 before the other connections of the cord have beenmade. Thusthe unit efimay readily be placed in positionwithin the casingH and after thisfihas been d'onethe end wa11 l'l' may be secured inposition in the mannenhereinbe'fore described. whenthe unites is 1inzp'ositionin 'the casing l i the filling opening-434s disposedjasshownin'Figs. 2 and 3,

so i as to Y be "directly opposite an I access opening "or 'door t it),-this opening l H] being adapted for closureby* adisc li-kedoormember 5I [I that is in the present instance -pivotally supported by a hinge I'l 2*-so asto be adapted to be 'moved in an open position when itis-desir'ed to fill the boiler IheTan' BQ s'erves of course to force airupwardly circulatedupwardly through the heat exchange unit 38 andoutwardly through the outlet openanger; and there will of c'ours'e besome circulati'on due"to the circulating action'of the heat exchange-11Iiit 38, b'ut the present invention, through the use 5 of I the fan39, T provides greater --heatingefiicienc y than would be otherwiseposfrom the outlet26,'fand because of this the presient space heater isparticularly adapted for room heating purposes.

- F'r-orn i the foregoing description: it will be apparent that athepresent sinvention provides a highly efiicientl an'd ioonvenient spaceheater that is readi-ly "portahle 31in r character. rThisza-space heateris highly efficient and effective for room heating purposes and is soconstructed and arranged so as to be capable of efiicient and economicalmanufacture as well as convenient repair or inspection. Thus while wehave illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of ourinvention, it is to be understood that this is capable of variation andmodification and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the precisedetails set forth, but desire to avail ourselves of such changes andalterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a space heater a heating unit comprising a steam boiler, anelectrical heating element operatively associated with said boiler, aheat exchange element operatively connected with and supported by saidboiler, supporting legs for said boiler extending downwardly therefrom,an electrically operated circulating fan mounted on and carried by oneof said legs, baflle means carried by said legs and extended beneath atleast a portion of said boiler, a pressure responsive actuator carriedby and operatively associated with said boiler, a pair of adjustableswitch operating members carried by said pressure responsive actuator, apair of switches carried by said actuator and operatively related to therespective operating members, and means affording energizing circuitsfor said fan and said heating element including said switches inparallel, a casing having inlet and outlet openings formed therein andhaving at least one removable wall, said heating unit being movable intoor out of said casing when said wall is removed, and means securing saidunit in position within said casing.

2. In a space heater, a heating unit comprising a steam boiler, anelectrical heating element operatively associated with said boiler, aheat exchange element operatively connected with and supported by saidboiler, supporting legs for said boiler extending downwardly therefrom,an electrically operated circulating fan mounted on and carried by oneof said legs, baflle means carried by said legs and extended beneath atleast a portion of said boiler, a pressure responsive actuator carriedby and operatively associated with said boiler, a pair of adjustableswitch operating members carried by said pressure responsive actuator, apair of switches carried by said actuator and operatively related to therespective operating members, and means affording energizing circuitsfor said fan and said heating element including said switches inparallel.

3. In a space heater, a heating unit comprising a steam boiler, anelectrical heating element operatively associated with said boiler, aheat exchange element operatively connected with and supported by saidboiler, supporting legs for said boiler extending downwardly therefrom,an electrically operated circulating fan mounted on and carried by oneof said legs, an actuator responsive to boiler conditions and carried byand operatively associated with said boiler, a pair of adjustable switchoperating members carried by said actuator, a pair of switchesoperatively related to the respective operating members, and meansaiTolding energizing circuits for said fan and said heating elementincluding said switches.

4. In a space heater, a heating unit comprising a steam boiler, anelectrical heating element operatively associated with said boiler, aheat exchange element operatively connected with and supported by saidboiler, supporting legs for said boiler extending downwardly therefrom,an electrically operated circulating fan mounted on and carried by oneof said legs, an actuator responsive to boiler conditions and carried byand operatively associated with said boiler, a pair of adjustable switchoperating members carried by said actuator, a pair of switchesoperatively related to the respective operating members, and meansaffording energizing circuits for said fan and said heating elementincluding said switches in parallel, a casin having inlet and outletopenings formed therein and having at least one removable wall, saidheating unit being movable into or out of said casing when said wall isremoved, and means securing said unit in position within said casing.

5. In a space heater, a heating unit comprising a steam boiler, anelectrical heating element operatively associated with said boiler, aheat exchange element operatively connected with and supported by saidboiler, supporting legs for said boiler extending downwardly therefrom,an electrically operated circulating fan mounted on and carried by oneof said legs, an actuator responsive to boiler conditions and carried byand operatively associated with said boiler, a pair of adjustable switchoperating members carried by said actuator, a pair of switchesoperatively related to the respective operating members, and meansaffording energizing circuits for said fan and said heating elementincluding said switches, a casing having inlet and outlet openingsformed therein and means securing said unit in position within saidcasing.

6. In a space heater, a heating unit comprising a steam boiler, anelectrical heating element operatively associated with said boiler, aheat exchange element operatively connected with and supported by saidboiler, supporting legs for said boiler extending downwardly therefrom,an electrically operated circulating fan mounted in fixed relation tosaid boiler, an actuator responsive to boiler conditions and carried byand operatively associated with said boiler, a pair of adjustable switchoperating members associated with said actuator, a pair of switchesoperatively related to the respective operating members, and meansaffording energizing circuits for said fan and said heating elementincluding said switches.

7. In a space heater, a heating unit comprising a steam boiler, anelectrical heating element operatively associated with said boiler, aheat exchange element operatively connected with and supported by saidboiler, supporting legs for said boiler extending downwardly therefrom,baffle means carried by said legs and extended beneath at least aportion of said boiler,-a pressure responsive actuator carried by andoperatively associated with said boiler, a pair of adjustable switchoperating members carried by said pressure responsive actuator, a pairof switches carried by said actuator and operatively related to therespective operating members, and means aifording a pair of energizingcircuits one of which extends to said heating element, said lastmentioned means including said switches in parallel.

8. In a space heater, a casing having inlet and outlet openings formedtherein and having at least one removable wall, a heating unitcomprising a steam boiler, an electrical heating element operativelyassociated with said boiler, a heat exchange element operativelyconnected with and supported by said boiler, supporting legs for saidboiler extending downwardly therefrom, an electrically operatedcirculating fan in said casing, baflie means carried by said legs andextended beneath at least a portion of said boiler, a pressureresponsive actuator carried by and operatively associated with saidboiler, a pair of adjustable switch operating members carried by saidpressure responsive actuator, a pair of switches carried by saidactuator and operatively related to the respective operating members,and means affording energizing circuits for said fan and said heatingelement including said switches in parallel, said heating unit beingmovable into or out of said casing when said wall is removed, and meanssecuring said unit in position within said casing.

9. In a space heater, a casing having inlet and outlet openings formedtherein and having at least one removable wall, a heating unitcomprising a steam boiler, an electrical heating element operativelyassociated with said boiler, a heat exchange element operativelyconnected with and supported by said boiler, supporting legs for saidboiler extending downwardly therefrom, an electrically operatedcirculating fan in said casing, an actuator responsive to boilerconditions and carried by and operatively associated with said boiler, apair of adjustable switch operating members carried by said actuator, apair of switches operatively related to the respective operatingmembers, and means affording energizing circuits for said fan and saidheating element including said switches in parallel, said heating unitbeing movable into or out of said casing when said wall is removed, andmeans securing said unit in position within said casing.

10. In a space heater, a casing having inlet and outlet openings formedtherein and having at least one removable wall, a heating unitcomprising a steam boiler, an electrical heating element operativelyassociated with said boiler, a heat exchange element operativelyconnected with and supported by said boiler, supporting legs for saidboiler extending downwardly therefrom, an electrically operatedcirculating fan in said casing, bafiie means for directing air from saidinlet opening toward said outlet opening, means associated with saidboiler and responsive to boiler conditions, a switch operated by saidmeans, and an energizing circuit for said heating element controlled bysaid switch means.

SAMUEL A. WITTE. WILLIAM W. WITTIE. PHILIP W. WI'ITIE. NICHOLAS WITTE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

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